Redbox's Geo-Social Test Builds on Mobile Success

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After seeing thousands of Foursquare check-ins without the benefit of any promotion, Redbox will now test the geo-social marketing waters. Starting today, consumers who check in at one of its 28,700 kiosks will receive a discount code for between 10 cents and $1 off their video rental. The discount can be used immediately.

Oakbrook Terrace, IL-based Redbox's movie rentals cost $1 per title. The promotion runs through Aug. 24 and marks the eight-year-old brand's first location-based foray.

However, Redbox Marketing VP Amy Gibby told ClickZ News that it ran a similar discounts campaign for 10 days in May that used SMS. The company "received more than 1.5 million texts…via 400,000 unique customers," she said.

Redbox plans to increasingly focus on location-based marketing because its audience apparently wants it. More than 6 million people have downloaded its 19-month-old iPhone/Android app, which directs them to kiosks while providing real-time movie title availability. Many of its kiosks are located near Walgreens locations, as the two companies are partners.

Meanwhile, Gibby said testing Foursquare was the next logical step in the brand's mobile evolution. "Movies are inherently social," she said, "making geo-social engagement a key component of our forward-looking marketing strategy."

And its mobile mindset appears to be paying dividends. In Redbox's most recent quarter, parent company Coinstar reported the video rental brand's revenue grew 34.5 percent year over year to nearly $364 million.